The Charlotte 49ers baseball squad officially opens up the
2013 season with a four-game series starting Friday at 4 p.m. at Robert and
Mariam Hayes Stadium. The series, which includes a Saturday doubleheader, will be
against Delaware State out of the MEAC, the first of five teams that made the
NCAA Tournament in 2012 on the Charlotte schedule this year. This will be the
first time these two schools have played one another in baseball.

The Saturday doubleheader starts at noon, with game two
commencing approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Sunday's
game has been moved to 1 p.m. from its originally scheduled noon time.

The Hornets reached 40 wins last season after winning the
MEAC title and return five of last season's top six hitters and 35 of the 40
pitching wins and all 10 saves from the 2012 squad.

The 49ers return seven players who started more than half of
the games last season but only a third of the team's 21 pitching victories, and 10
of the team's 12 saves from last season.

Charlotte is 6-1-1 in season-opening series (with a four-game
split at FIU to start the 1992 season), sweeping their last two season-opening
series, both at home.

Charlotte is 21-13 in season-opening games, 13-5 in home season
openers. The 49ers have won their last five season-opening games at home. Under
head coach Loren Hibbs, Charlotte has a 14-6 mark in season-openers, including
a 7-1 mark in the past eight seasons in opening games.

The starting rotations for the series are as follows (with 2012
stats)...

(Junior transfer
Jason Harris' stats were with Barton County Community College in 2012.)

Charlotte
fans will notice a few changes from year's past... The team's closer the past two
seasons, senior John Hamilton, has made the transition into the starting
rotation. Hamilton and associate head coach Brandon Hall put together a plan
back in the fall to prepare the senior to go deeper into games than he has in
the past, but be more of a factor throughout the season.

"It's nice to
have some routines and to know when you are going to pitch," said Hamilton. "The
work on non-pitching days will be a little different, but knowing when you are
going out there makes it different to prepare for mentally."

Senior third
baseman Shane Basen and redshirt senior Justin Roland, the only two players to
start all 53 games for Charlotte last season, are moving defensive positions
this season. Basen, who has started at third in Charlotte's last 95 games, will
move to the shortstop position. Roland, who has started at short in Charlotte's
last 115-straight games, and 181 games overall, will move to second base this
season. Both were shortstops in high school. Roland is currently seventh
all-time in defensive assists at Charlotte, while Basen is tied for 17th
in that category. Roland brings an active streak of reaching base safely in his
last 26 games, while Basen takes an active nine-game hit streak into the start
of 2013.

Finally, head
coach Loren Hibbs will spend more of the season out of the dugout this year, as
he will coach first base when the team is at bat. He will continue to relay the
signs to the hitters and baserunners from the field in the running game, which
will allow assistant coach Kris Rochelle, who has coached first the last three
seasons, to counsel hitters before and after at bats in the dugout while the
team is on offense. Rochelle is also scheduled to travel more during the season
on recruiting trips, so his absence will not cause as much shifting of on-field
personnel on game days when he is absent from the team. He will continue to
manage the defensive positioning of players when the 49ers are in the field.

Charlotte was
picked to finish fourth in the 2013 preseason poll, grabbing 168 votes by the A-10
coaches in the league.

Since joining
the league in 2006, Charlotte is 178-53-1 when scoring first and 128-35-1 when
scoring in the first inning. The 49ers have outscored opponents 363-264 in the
first inning over the past seven seasons. The 49ers have scored in the first
inning in nearly 42 percent of games in the last seven seasons.

The first 150
fans to Friday's season-opener will receive a free t-shirt. Saturday is free
youth day at the ballpark. Single game tickets for the season are on sale
through Charlotte49ers.com or by contacting the 49ers Ticket Office by phone at
704-687-4949.

Friday and Saturday's action will be streamed live through Charlotte49ers.tv via the All-Access Player. Live Stats are available through the Web site, and also on the Charlotte 49ers Mobile App.